Lightning, Fulton
- When
- April 22, 5:50 PM EST
- Where
- Fulton County, Atlanta
- Coordinates
- 33.790, -84.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Georgia, April 22, 1997
Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport was struck by at least two lightning strikes. These lightning strikes carved out 2 holes in the cement of the north runway.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.
Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport was struck by at least two lightning strikes. These lightning strikes carved out 2 holes in the cement of the north runway. Each hole was approximately 4 feet across and 9 inches deep. The runway was closed for less than 2 hours.
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:49 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Alabama, April 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, April 22, 1997
- Tornadoes in Georgia, April 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, April 22, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Texas, April 22, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, April 22, 1997
- Tornado in Georgia, April 22, 1997
- Hail in Louisiana, April 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, April 22, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Texas, April 22, 1997
- Tornado in South Carolina, April 22, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in South Carolina, April 22, 1997
More
Every storm in Georgia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, April 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5595209.